We have been tremendously fortunate, whilst writing this book, in having the assistance of some of the world’s foremost experts in obesity. This project would not have been possible without the generosity and dedication of these leading neuroscientists, physiologists and policy experts.
Drs Nicole Avena and Alan Geliebter from the University of Columbia, and Kent Berridge, University of Michigan, are internationally respected specialists in neurocognitive aspects of food pleasure and reward. Given the extent to which obesity is driven by the pleasure of consumption, their expertise was invaluable in the completion of this book.
We would also like to extend our gratitude to Dr Emma Boyland at the University of Liverpool and Dr Laura Forbes at the University of Guelph who provided insight into nutrition and food marketing.
Dr Jean-Philippe Chaput from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Canada, advised us on the link between circadian rhythms and appetite control.
Dr Jeffrey Friedman, a leading expert in molecular genetics and recipient of Time Magazine’s Best in Science, gave us a fascinating personal account of his discovery of the hormone leptin.
Market researcher and psychophysicist Dr Howard Moskowitz, CEO of i-Novation Inc. as well as President of Moskowitz Jacobs Inc., contributed greatly to our understanding of the factors that make food taste delicious.
Dr Sean Kelly, former lecturer in neurotoxicology at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, provided valuable feedback on medical and physiological complications associated with excess adiposity.
We are also most grateful to Rand Corporation policy expert Dr Deborah Cohen and to Dr Yoni Freedhoff, one of Canada’s most respected authorities on food policy, whose insights enabled us to structure a clear set of guidelines on this complex and politically sensitive topic.
Hank Cardello, former food industry executive and author of Stuffed: An Insider’s Look at Who’s (Really) Making America Fat offered excellent perspectives on the business case for producing healthier and more nutritionally sound food.
Our grateful thanks to Steven Matthews, LLB, LLM, MA who was kind enough to read the manuscript and provide an astute and perceptive critique of the early drafts; to Matt Briggs for the medical illustrations; to Duncan Smith and Amy Maddock of Mindlab International for their support and advice; to Dan Jones, hypnotherapist, and to Robert E. Lamb PhD of Michigan City, North Dakota for his insights into obesity in the US.
We should also like to acknowledge the assistance of Jane Lee, Southern Railways press officer, for arranging filming facilities, and videographer Jerry Laurence and stills photographer Afonso Palma. We are very grateful to Lee McMurray, Emily Kennedy and Curtis Leighton-Jones, Endemol Series Producers on Series 1, 2 and 3 of Channel 4’s Secret Eaters and also to Anna Richardson, who presented the series, for enabling us to replicate some key studies into the psychology of obesity.
Last, but certainly not least, we would like to extend our grateful thanks to our Random House editors, Nigel Wilcockson, for commissioning the book and suggesting its title, and Harry Scoble, for his excellent and thorough work on the manuscript.
We sincerely appreciate all your time and support in helping us provide these insights into the world’s most serious and most misunderstood health crisis.